Kafka Does Iraq: The Disturbing Case of Abdul Amir Younes Hussein
The disturbing case of Abdul Amir Younes Hussein, the CBS cameraman who has been detained by U.S. forces in Iraq for over five months without a shred of evidence being publicly presented against him, has taken yet another bizarre turn.
As reported by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal last week, Hussein is a 25-year-old freelancer who has found himself trapped in a nightmare of secrecy, suspicion, and legal uncertainty since being wounded by U.S. forces while filming the aftermath of a car bombing in Mosul on April 5th.
At first the military expressed regret for Hussein's minor injuries. But three days later they arrested him, claiming he had been "engaged in anti-coalition activity." Thus began his Kafka-esque legal odyssey, which has seen the reportedly timid reporter shuttled from prison to prison (including Abu Ghraib), while the military has changed its story multiple times, refused to release any evidence against him, refused to let Hussein be visited by friends or relatives, and rebuffed the efforts of CBS to have his case adjudicated in a conclusive manner.
"We're not insisting that Abdul Amir is innocent," CBS President Andrew Heyward told me. "We're just asking for due process and some answers, which so far the military has refused to provide. What are the specific charges against him? What is the evidence against him? Why can't we see it? Instead, we've seen shifting explanations and seemingly arbitrary rulings." [...] Read the whole story at Huffington Post: http://tinyurl.com/8k4g6
© Virginia Metze
As reported by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal last week, Hussein is a 25-year-old freelancer who has found himself trapped in a nightmare of secrecy, suspicion, and legal uncertainty since being wounded by U.S. forces while filming the aftermath of a car bombing in Mosul on April 5th.
At first the military expressed regret for Hussein's minor injuries. But three days later they arrested him, claiming he had been "engaged in anti-coalition activity." Thus began his Kafka-esque legal odyssey, which has seen the reportedly timid reporter shuttled from prison to prison (including Abu Ghraib), while the military has changed its story multiple times, refused to release any evidence against him, refused to let Hussein be visited by friends or relatives, and rebuffed the efforts of CBS to have his case adjudicated in a conclusive manner.
"We're not insisting that Abdul Amir is innocent," CBS President Andrew Heyward told me. "We're just asking for due process and some answers, which so far the military has refused to provide. What are the specific charges against him? What is the evidence against him? Why can't we see it? Instead, we've seen shifting explanations and seemingly arbitrary rulings." [...] Read the whole story at Huffington Post: http://tinyurl.com/8k4g6
© Virginia Metze
Starmail - 26. Sep, 15:38
